Rebirth of top photographers

Chapter 223 A foolproof auction plan (additional update for the hall master’s favorite wsy)

"Hello, Mr. Chen Pingsheng, I am the person in charge of Lifeng Auction House, Jin Ji." In the restaurant with dark green tiles on the floor, a man wearing a dark blue suit and a mustache handed over a business card , while introducing himself to Chen Pingsheng.

But he didn't pay any attention to the man's words. Instead, his attention was attracted by the collar of his purple shirt.

"We want to promote your works through cooperation and make a name for ourselves in the auction circle." Jin Ji's words were full of confidence, as if as long as both parties cooperate, the prices of Chen Pingsheng's works will definitely rise.

"How to cooperate specifically?" Chen Pingsheng asked after taking a sip of coffee.

"For specific cooperation methods, you can take a look at our contract." Jin Ji was well prepared. After hearing this, he immediately took out a thick stack of contract documents from his bag and handed them to Chen Pingsheng.

He was in no mood to read it carefully just because of the paper wind caused by turning the pages with his fingers.

"That's a bit much, but let me tell you briefly." Jin Ji touched the gold watch on his wrist and said: "Our auction house is one of the top auction houses in the industry. The company is headquartered in Macau and has been operating for 50 years. It’s history.”

"We have cooperated with many artists, such as Kelly Vince, Li Chang... and others." Jin Ji showed Chen Pingsheng a page of promotional pictures.

In the time it took Chen Pingsheng to drink a cup of coffee, he had already talked about the background of the company, the founder, and the works he handled to sky-high bidding.

Every item is told accurately, and I have to say, it sounds as fascinating as a story.

But when he talked about the specific method of cooperation, he suddenly smiled mysteriously and said: "Mr. Chen, as far as we know, your works have not entered the auction market yet."

"Yes." Chen Pingsheng nodded.

"That's just right, we have a very good opportunity now." Jin Ji raised a finger and said: "Our auction house will hold a high-profile auction recently, and there will be many rich people participating. There are also some It is the first time for a wealthy person to participate in the auction. We can guarantee that when your work is launched, these wealthy people will definitely compete to bid, making the price of the work reach a height that you would never have imagined."

"Oh?" Chen Pingsheng was a little curious, put down his phone and asked, "Why are you so sure?"

Jin Ji smiled and said: "First of all, we will promote it and let the cooperating collectors price your work. Because it is the first time that the work has entered the market, the gimmick is sufficient, you can rest assured.

"In addition, we have very close ties with many people, whether they are rich or collectors. You know, auctions are simply bidding. As long as we find a respected senior collector to bid, we can cause a stir. Interested by most wealthy people,"

After a pause, he continued: "And this is just an auxiliary means to prevent unsold auctions. We actually believe in the value of your work, but you also know that sometimes the auction market does not look at the value of the art itself."

Jin Ji's words were very vague, but Chen Pingsheng had already noticed the hidden meaning in his words.

So he said with great interest: "So how high can the high price you mentioned be?"

Jin Ji saw that Chen Pingsheng was interested and immediately said: "It can probably be tripled. I understand that the market value of your work is between US$20 and US$[-]. If we promote and raise the price, it can reach About $[-].”

Listening to the high price Jin Ji said, Chen Pingsheng said nothing, but someone next to him suddenly spoke.

"Then after the auction, you will ask the artist for high storage fees and handling fees, right?" A man wearing a casual white shirt stood at the table.

He smiled slightly, with a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.

Jin Jiyi frowned, looked up at him and said, "Sir, please don't talk nonsense. What evidence do you have?"

The man picked up the business card on the table and said: "Leifeng Auction House, as far as I know the boss is Du Li, your name is... Kintsugi? I can call Du Li now and ask him if there is such a thing in the auction house Number one.”

Jin Ji stood up immediately with an ugly expression: "You must be sick. Do you need to tell me where I am from? If you have the ability, ask Mr. Du now!"

Although his tone was angry and his words seemed quite firm, Chen Pingsheng could clearly see that his hands were clenched and turned pale.

So he said: "Mr. Jin, let's end our chat today. This is my friend."

"Oh, he's a friend of Mr. Chen." Jin Jishun got off the donkey and nodded: "Then you go ahead and I'll leave first."

After saying that, he picked up the bag and contract and walked away.

I didn't forget to snort as I passed the man.

The man watched him leave, then sat opposite Chen Pingsheng, pushed Jin Ji's coffee aside, and stretched out his hand: "Wang Ruofeng, the person in charge of Christie's Auction House in Mainland China."

"Hello." Chen Pingsheng shook hands with him and said, "So what Jin Ji said just now is all false?"

"It's not completely fake." Wang Ruofeng explained: "There are some auction houses that have this kind of routine, but as the market becomes more and more standardized, it is no longer easy to take advantage of the loopholes. And although those rich people don't understand art, they That doesn’t mean they will be cheated.”

"As for people like Jin Ji and others, they are actually not people from the auction house, but liars."

"Liar?" Chen Pingsheng raised his eyebrows. "That's right, they specifically look for artists like Mr. Chen who have never entered the auction market, and they promise to auction them at high prices. They take everything on themselves and ask you to hand over the works to him." Wang Ruofeng knocked on the table: "Once successful, they will carry out so-called publicity. The publicity companies are owned by themselves, which is equivalent to putting money in the left hand and the right hand. Then they will find someone to set the price and auction. They will even broadcast a live broadcast to show you the auction process.

"When the auction is over, the price will definitely reach three times what he promised. However, this is the time when the price will be revealed. They will first ask you for storage fees, publicity fees and other miscellaneous expenses, because the contract must have such First, before the auction amount is received, the artist must pay the various fees incurred by the auction house for the auction of the work."

"And if the artist is unwilling to pay the bill, the artwork belongs to the auction house. Of course, they have no use for taking the work. They want you to break the contract and pay high compensation."

"One ring within another." Chen Pingsheng was a little surprised, but fortunately he was not interested in what Jin Ji said.

"Well, although it's cliché, it's very useful, especially for some artists." Wang Ruofeng concluded: "After all, creators always lose their voices, right?"

"Yes." Chen Pingsheng affirmed. Many artists prefer to speak with their works rather than telling others, and they don't even have many friends around them.

So as the saying goes, artists are lonely.

"Is the auction house they are in real?" Chen Pingsheng asked.

Wang Ruofeng replied: "It's true, but I don't have Du Li's phone number." He spread his hands and smiled, and his side bangs swayed with the movement.

"And they just borrowed a name. When signing the contract, they will use other companies to prevaricate you, saying they are branches of the same head office."

"So you deceived him?" Chen Pingsheng couldn't help laughing.

"Of course, but this is not the end yet." With that said, Wang Ruofeng took out his cell phone and showed it to Chen Pingsheng.

On the screen was a photo of Kintsugi, taken when he was frothing at the mouth.

"Next, I will send photos to the heads of major auction houses and some people in the collecting circle to make everyone wary of this person. I will also ask if there are any artists who have been deceived." Wang Ruofeng raised an eyebrow: "Waiting for the chain of evidence. Once everything is complete, we will prosecute them together and drive them out of this circle."

"Thank you." Chen Pingsheng said these words for all artists.

"Nothing, Mr. Chen, let's talk about your works next. I heard from Chang Ming that you have a huge work that you want to auction?" Wang Ruofeng changed the subject, then waved his hand, called the waiter, and ordered a latte.

"Yes."

"Are there any pictures? Chang Ming said it was shocking, but I haven't seen it yet." Wang Ruofeng asked.

Chen Pingsheng then showed him the pictures on his mobile phone.

"What a great idea!" Wang Ruofeng's eyes lit up, as if he could smell the potential of the auction.

"Can you tell me more about your creative ideas?" he asked while looking at the photos.

"It's like this..." Chen Pingsheng briefly talked about his creative concept and process of "Yangtze River No. [-]".

"I see, that means there is a similar one that will be exhibited at the Yangtze River National Museum." Wang Ruofeng thinks this is great. Although independent works are more popular, they refer to masters who have been famous for a long time. They The only copies can be sold for sky-high prices.

But Chen Pingsheng is still just a newcomer to the auction market. Even though he has a lot of praise in the circle, he is still a complete newcomer now.

Everyone’s consensus is conservative when it comes to pricing newcomers’ works.

However, it would make a lot of sense if works of the same type were stored in museums.

Because this is equivalent to the country's experts giving the work a rough value anchor, and the collector is willing to go out and tell others about the work he has collected. There is a similar one in the museum.

This is undoubtedly the best way to increase your pricing.

Unexpectedly, Chang Ming gave himself such a surprise.

"So can I go see the work now?" Although the appraisal of the work requires experts from the auction house, Wang Ruofeng still wants to see it with his own eyes as a collector.

"No problem, it's at my house now." Chen Pingsheng was not surprised and was already prepared.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Wang Ruofeng drank up the latte in his cup and said excitedly: "Let's go."

Chen Pingsheng couldn't help but nodded in agreement. He didn't expect that the person in charge had such a pure side.

(End of this chapter)